Little Bit Stronger
by it'sRISSAROSE
Summary: After the events of 9x05, the Miami-Dade CSIs come to realize that one of their own might not be fully healed from her traumatic past. Set immediately after 9x05 "Sleepless In Miami".
1. Prologue

**Title:** Little Bit Stronger  
><strong>Author:<strong> it'sRISSAROSE  
><strong>Fandom:<strong> CSI: Miami  
><strong>CharactersPairings:** Natalia Boa Vista, Horatio Caine, Eric Delko, Calleigh Duquesne, Walter Simmons, Frank Tripp, Ryan Wolfe, Minor Characters, Original Characters  
><strong>Rating:<strong> T  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Angst, Hurt/Comfort  
><strong>Warnings:<strong> Some Violence, Some Language, Some Adult Content  
><strong>Summary:<strong> After the events of 9x05, the Miami-Dade CSIs come to realize that one of their own might not be fully healed from her traumatic past. Set immediately after 9x05 "Sleepless In Miami".  
><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> If I owned CSI: Miami, things would be _much_ different.  
><strong>AN:** It's been a _long_ time since I've written fan fiction, so please go easy on me! My muse has been bugging me to write a Natalia story for quite some time now, and I've finally gotten the inspiration (and time) to do so!

**Little Bit Stronger  
><strong>_Prologue_

Detective Frank Tripp was _not_ in a very good mood today. Even his favorite football team's earlier win against Texas A&M wasn't enough to calm the raging inferno burning inside the man. Nothing made him angrier than when one of Miami-Dade's own was threatened or injured on the job, and that had been exactly what happened just a few hours ago.

MDPD's case that day had started out normal enough with a 911 call reporting a murder… except the person who called it in had reported his _own_ murder. Three CSIs had raced out to the scene along with backup, only to discover the young man obviously under the influence of _something_, digging up a decapitated head that most certainly wasn't his own.

At the end of the day, the victim had been the husband of a businesswoman who'd hired her psychic to kill him. On top of that, the psychic had drugged one of her other clients to get him to dispose of the body. During the investigation, CSI Natalia Boa Vista had gotten drugged herself, only to drive off to some old warehouse and wake up in the hospital a short time later.

Just thinking about it gave the seasoned detective a headache.

Luckily for Frank, his work day was nearing a close and in less than an hour, he'd be home with an ice cold beer in hand, flipping television channels. All that was left to do was sign off on some paperwork and finish up the booking of Elena Manus, the psychic responsible for drugging both her client _and_ Natalia.

"There's a bus outside that'll take you over to lockup, Ms. Manus," he explained in his southern drawl. "Officer Walsh here will escort you." With a nod of his head, he dismissed the uniformed officer and their charged suspect, and then turned his attention to the bag of Elena's personal effects that he'd collected during the booking.

Just before making her exit from the booking area, the blonde psychic slowed and turned around to face Frank once more. "The story your CSI told me at my office… about her husband hurting her… That wasn't a made-up undercover story, was it?" Her eyes met the Detective's hardened blues.

"The scumbag's dead now. What's it to you?" He didn't know if he liked this woman prying into Natalia's personal life.

Elena's face softened as she shrugged her shoulders. "You don't have to be a psychic to know when someone's hurting, Detective. Her husband may be dead, but her pain is still very much alive."

And with that, the woman was escorted from the room, leaving Detective Frank Tripp behind to wonder – and worry – about Natalia Boa Vista.


	2. Chapter One

**Author's Note:** Thank you SO MUCH to those of you who have been kind enough to leave me reviews! It means a lot to know that you've taken the time to read my story and comment on it. I started that prologue a while ago, immediately after "Sleepless in Miami" aired on television actually. Unfortunately, life got in the way and I had to put it on hold… and though I've picked _LBS_ back up now, I don't remember where I'd originally planned to take the story. (So you might have to bear with me while I try to figure it out!) I do know one thing about _LBS_, though: this is my way of finally giving Natalia the closure she very much deserves. (Because I'm tired of waiting for TPTB over at CSI: Miami to get around to it!) I hope you'll stick out the journey with me and Natalia, as she gets a little bit stronger each and every day.

**Little Bit Stronger  
><strong>_Chapter One_

Ryan Wolfe stole a glance at the shaken woman sitting in the passenger seat of his car. He'd offered to drive Natalia home after the ordeal she'd gone through earlier today, and the CSI had accepted without hesitation. She had also been quick to assure her friend that she was okay, but the Miami-Dade officer of six years remained unconvinced.

The ride to Natalia's house in the picturesque Miami neighborhood of Coconut Grove had been a fairly quiet one. The brunette had always been a rather social individual, but even she fell silent after only a few minutes of small talk. The quiet unnerved Ryan and every so often he found himself looking over at his friend and coworker, just to make sure she was alright.

When they finally pulled into the driveway of her two-story home, Ryan shifted the gear into park and cut the engine. Having made the decision back on the road to walk Natalia up to her door, he reached for the release on his seatbelt but was interrupted by the sudden admission she made. "I shot at you."

Surprised, the CSI's hazel eyes widened as he abandoned his seatbelt to focus on his friend. "What?" he asked, not quite sure he'd heard her right.

"At the warehouse. I shot at you and Horatio, didn't I?"

Once again, silence filled the car. _'Shit,'_ Ryan thought to himself. So much for his pact with Horatio. It wasn't often the officer went against the demands of his boss, but there wasn't a way around this one. Sighing, he looked at Natalia, noting just how tense every muscle in her body appeared to be, and nodded his head. "You did."

Immediately following his response, Natalia's façade began to crumble. Her lips curled down into a frown as tears welled up in her chocolate brown eyes and Ryan suddenly found himself in a panic. "But it's okay!" He rushed to reassure her, scrambling for words to calm his fellow CSI. "We're okay, you didn't hit us. You weren't yourself… hallucinating from the Datura that Elena drugged you with…"

It took a moment, but Ryan's gentle reassurances of his and Horatio's well-being seemed to help Natalia regain some control. With a sigh of her own, she ran a shaky hand through her hair as her friend decided to pose his own question. "How did you know?" he asked, eager to learn how Natalia had come to that conclusion.

"I-I've been trying to piece everything together. At the lab – when I thought I was at the lab – I didn't just see Nick." Ryan watched silently as Natalia's face paled and a look of terror flashed in her eyes. "I saw _two_ of him."

Things suddenly made more sense for Ryan as he got a small glimpse into what Natalia had been seeing at the warehouse. No wonder she'd been so terrified, so hysterical when he and Horatio had taken her down and disarmed her… she'd thought that they were her abusive ex, preparing to hurt her again. His heart suddenly ached for the woman next to him.

The DNA expert continued on. "At the hospital, when you said that you and Horatio found me… I made the connection." Natalia looked away from her friend in shame. "You two… two of Nick… God, I'm so sorry, Ryan." With that, the brunette buried her face into her hands, overcome with emotion over what she'd done.

"Natalia, look at me," Ryan spoke, gentle but firm. He coaxed her hands into his as he locked eyes with her. "You have _nothing_ to be sorry about. You were drugged with a very strong hallucinogen. You had no way of knowing what was really going on."

Much to his satisfaction, Natalia nodded, resigning to his reasoning. "I know… I know…" she whispered, multiple times as if to try and convince herself.

When silence settled once more over the interior of the car, Ryan smiled. "Now how about we get you inside?" It was more of a rhetorical question, and the two extracted themselves from the SUV before walking up the stone pathway to Natalia's front door.

Ryan watched quietly as his friend retrieved her keys from her purse and shakily inserted the correct one into the lock. Once the great oak door was opened, the woman turned back to her coworker and smiled appreciatively. "Thank you, Ryan. For everything."

Having never been able to resist one of Natalia Boa Vista's smiles, the CSI smiled back before wrapping her in a solid hug. "Do you need anything?" he asked, not wanting to leave until he was sure she'd be okay for the remainder of the day.

"No, I'm good." She let out a soft laugh under her breath as they separated. "Gonna take some Xanax and call it a night, I think."

Ryan nodded. It sounded like the best thing for her at the moment. "If anything changes, or you need anything at all… give me a call, okay?" He received a forced nod from Natalia, and then watched as she stepped inside her house and closed the door behind her.

As he started back down the walkway toward his car, Ryan Wolfe could've sworn he heard a woman's sobs… sobs that would stay with him for the remainder of the day.


	3. Chapter Two

**Author's Note:** Your reviews continue to bring a smile to my face! I appreciate the great suggestions as well! I have to say that my muse has a mind of its own and only does what it wants, but I do plan to have this story mirror S9 and beyond (thanks, Green!) and I'll definitely try my best to give everyone a glimpse into my interpretation of Nick and Natalia's rocky relationship (thanks, Profoundtiger). I hope I can do it justice!

**Little Bit Stronger  
><strong>_Chapter Two_

The following day proved to be a slow one for the Miami-Dade Crime Lab, which the CSIs were all especially grateful for. Days like these gave the team an opportunity to catch up on paperwork and process samples from cases of lesser importance, making the atmosphere of the lab much more laid-back than if they were working an open murder case. Nevertheless, the entire team was still on edge after the events of yesterday, all concerned for their coworker who was out on medical leave for the next week.

At the start of their shift early that morning, the team had crowded around Ryan in the break room, eager to know how Natalia had held up the night before. Among the tight-knit team of investigators were several of the lab techs as well; prior to becoming a CSI, Natalia had been a lab rat herself, and she still had a wonderful relationship with many of the MDPD scientists.

Ryan felt helpless as his coworkers pressed him for answers that he didn't have himself. Not much had been said between the two on the ride to Natalia's and despite his offer to call him if she needed anything that night, his phone never rang. As much of a worrier as he was, Ryan forced himself to believe that no news was good news; surely their friend was doing just fine.

Unfortunately, Natalia's well-being wasn't the only thing that the whole of the Miami-Dade Crime Lab was talking about that day. Word had gotten around that the Level 2 CSI had been drugged with Datura, leading a handful of the younger lab techs to start speculating about her reaction to the strong hallucinogen. Ryan found himself being questioned multiple times throughout the day as to what exactly had gone on at the abandoned warehouse, but the MDPD officer kept his lips sealed.

Calleigh Duquesne was among those at the Crime Lab who wondered what Ryan and Horatio were keeping from everyone. The seasoned CSI had spent many years in her job noticing the little details, picking up on inaccuracies when doing interviews, and it was at the hospital yesterday that the blonde realized there was a lot more to the story than her boss and colleague were letting on; she saw it in Ryan's hesitation when speaking to Natalia, and in the look of faint recollection that had flashed in the woman's eyes.

Still, the ballistics expert knew better than to press Horatio Caine on the issue, and poor Ryan had his own problems trying to avoid a particularly nosy bunch of gossip-prone lab rats, so she took to sharing her concern with former fling and good friend, Eric Delko. Eric had been quite the party animal growing up and had heard his fair share of horror stories about bad trips on Datura from friends… though it was still anyone's guess as to what had happened at the warehouse.

Having decided to forget about yesterday for the time being, the Level 3 CSI locked herself up in Ballistics to get started on the mountain of paperwork that had been piling up for the last few weeks. Tucked away in her sanctuary, the blonde set to work on updating records, files, and keeping count of the Crime Lab's firearms collection. It was while going through the process of inventory and cross-checking the firearm/accessory sign in/out sheet that Calleigh made a fairly surprising discovery: dated yesterday, Horatio's signature signing back in a clip that had been signed out as part of _Natalia_'s back-up gun.

"Cal, we're gonna order takeout for lun—Hey, you ok?"

Eric stood in the doorway of Ballistics with a worried look on his face, his attention fixed entirely on his best friend and colleague. He noted how quickly the look of concern disappeared from Calleigh's face as she registered his presence, making him all the more wary that something was going on. Her lips curled up into the nicest smile he'd seen in a while, but it still wasn't quite enough to convince him.

"I'm fine Eric," she said in her sweet, southern drawl. "Just worried about Natalia."

Calleigh's head was swimming with different scenarios as to what had happened yesterday. Why on earth was Horatio signing in company property that had been issued to Natalia? She certainly didn't remember any mention of the CSI discharging her weapon the previous day, but then again – she'd thought there was something that Horatio and Ryan were hiding. But what need would Natalia have had for firing her weapon? And furthermore, if she _had_ fired her weapon… who was it that she'd aimed at?

The handsome CSI's expression turned serious as the blonde mentioned Natalia. Since she'd joined the lab back in 2004, Eric and the DNA specialist had managed to build up quite a history. They'd flirted, dated, and had a pregnancy scare within the span of one year. Then when Natalia's abusive ex-husband came back around, Eric had always made sure he was around to defend and protect the woman he'd grown to admire and respect. While the two had long since decided to just be friends, the Cuba native still cared deeply for his colleague.

"Yeah, me too." Taking a few steps into Ballistics, Eric momentarily forgot about Chinese food. "But she'll be ok, she's a strong woman. Always has been." And it was true; Calleigh had learned quite a bit about Natalia's past over the years, and the blonde was always in awe of the woman who was still standing, despite all she'd been through. "I gave her a call earlier; she sounds ok. Said she'd be home all day."

Taking in that information, the Ballistics expert nodded slowly. "Maybe I'll stop by her place after my shift tonight."

And with that decision, Calleigh turned her attention to lunch and put in her order. As long as no one decided to commit a felony within city limits sometime during the next seven hours, she'd be out of there to see Natalia just before nightfall.


End file.
